Chapter 44
[Holy shit, why does Brother Pineapple look so old?]
[Watch your mouth. That's called maturity!]
[He looks like he's weathered so much!]
[You know, even though Brother Pineapple's face is a little ugly, combined with that weathered look and that air of authority, he really looks badass!]
[Brother Pineapple is mighty!!!! (Voice crack!)]
[Son, how did you get so old? It breaks your mom's heart to see you like this. You must have suffered so much.]
Big Pineapple smiled faintly. "Maybe it's because I don't have a beauty filter on. This thing doesn't support beauty filters, so that's why I look like this."
[Big Pineapple, how have things been over there all these years? What exactly happened? Why haven't you streamed in so long?]
"A lot happened. Our old home was destroyed, then the Starry Sky Giant Mosquitoes ran rampant, and there was a famine too. But I made it through all of that."
The viewers in the livestream fell silent for a moment after hearing Big Pineapple's words.
Giant mosquitoes running rampant. Famine.
Big Pineapple brushed over those words so lightly that ordinary people felt little.
Because they had never truly gone hungry.
Only those who had actually lived through such things knew how terrifying a famine was.
It really could kill people!
And there were terrifying monsters like those mosquitoes on top of that.
Big Pineapple tucked two hands behind his head. With another hand, he picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it away, then adjusted his position and said:
"Actually, I came to you all this time to ask for help first."
[What happened now?]
"That ant I let go twenty years ago has come out. Now I want to kill him."
Big Pineapple then explained the ants' situation in detail, and the livestream fell silent again.
Because what they heard from Big Pineapple was not an ant nest.
It was an ant empire!
Thousands upon thousands, even over a hundred thousand giant ants, each more than two hundred meters long.
The underground area they occupied was no smaller than a large province, and it extended through multiple levels.
An entire mountain range in the south, a thousand meters high and stretching for thousands of kilometers, had been hollowed out by them. That was just the space aboveground. He still had no idea what things actually looked like underground.
[So you want to kill the queen, right?]
"Yes. I just wanted to ask you what ants are afraid of, and what I should do to kill that queen."
[I'm a biology expert. In the real world, ants communicate through pheromones. If you have an irritating liquid or gas, you can briefly disrupt their communication. Then the ants will fall into chaos. Maybe you can take advantage of that...]
[You make it sound simple, but have you forgotten how big those ants are? A single one is two hundred meters long, and the area they occupy is already equivalent to a province. Do you know how much of that irritating liquid you mentioned it would take?!]
[I think pumping in half the seawater would do it.]
[With the water pump at your house?!]
[All right, everyone, stop arguing. I have another idea. Assassination!]
Big Pineapple immediately perked up at that comment and asked, "How would that work?"
[Like we said earlier, ants communicate through pheromones. You can disguise yourselves as them, or kill some ants and cover your whole bodies with their damn shells and blood. Under normal circumstances, you should be fine.
But it's still best to avoid the ants. They won't bother you either. As long as you're careful, there shouldn't be much of a problem.]
Big Pineapple's eyes lit up. "Go on."
[This trick should work fine on the worker ants outside. Even face-to-face, they might not attack you, and would instead treat you as their own kind.
The real difficulty is the queen. If I remember correctly, that queen awakened supernatural abilities too, and she has at least dozens, or even a hundred guards around her.
Ordinary workers aren't qualified to approach the queen, so if you want to kill her, you'll have to break through their protection. They protect her at all times. Don't think about luring the tiger away from its mountain or anything like that. It won't work.]
Big Pineapple sat up on the barren grassland, folded two arms across his chest, and stroked the beard on his chin with another hand as he sank into thought.
It really was a good idea. It seemed to be the only way he could meet that queen and have a chance to kill her.
[Remember, you have to be fast, and after killing the queen, you can't let a single guard go either. Otherwise, the entire ant nest will descend into chaos, and you might not make it out.]
[You don't necessarily need to do that. I have another idea. The first part is the same as what he said, but after you see the queen, throw out the gas or liquid that can disrupt their communication. Then kill the queen with the speed of thunder before anyone can cover their ears!]
[Do you know how much of that stuff you'd need to disrupt face-to-face communication between dozens or a hundred ants that big?]
[Exactly. And whether it's a gas or a liquid, that stuff smells strong. You'd be discovered before you even got inside.]
[Can't you seal it up?]
[Seal it up? In what?!]
[And how are they supposed to carry that much? They're supposed to be disguised as ants in the first place. How would they carry anything?]
Big Pineapple looked at his current form. Four arms and two legs made six limbs in total. Ants also had six legs!
If they prepared ant shells, it really did seem possible. And the ant abdomen at the back could hold the irritating liquid!
At that thought, Big Pineapple hurriedly asked, "What can stop them from communicating?!"
"The simplest thing would be plant fluids. Do you have anything like stinkweed juice?"
Big Pineapple shook his head helplessly. "On the surface now, never mind grass-even the tree trunks have been eaten clean by the ants. Is there anything else we can use instead?"
[There aren't any plants left? Then... what do you eat?]
Big Pineapple said nothing, but the viewers seemed to remember something and did not pursue the question.
[Petroleum. If you can find petroleum, that's good stuff. And gunpowder too. Didn't we walk you through making it before? The instant gunpowder ignites, it releases a large amount of irritating gas. See what you can get your hands on.]
After that night's livestream, Big Pineapple did not turn it off again. Instead, he led a group of people in searching for petroleum under the viewers' guidance.
They also mined the raw materials for black powder. Both substances were flammable and explosive. Whether it was their smell or the flames they produced, both were good for dealing with ants.
During the day, Big Pineapple roamed about, digging into mountains and boring holes. At night, he returned to teach Little Pineapple, who was already ten years old.
Like this, more than half a year passed, and their supplies were finally ready.
They also killed fifty smaller ants.
These would provide the shells for their disguises. They were not bringing many people this time, only fifty.
Because according to the people in the livestream, greater numbers would make them easier to discover, so they finally settled on fifty.
That day, Big Pineapple turned off the livestream for once and spent the day walking outside with Yu Ji.
Yu Ji simply watched Big Pineapple quietly without saying anything. She seemed able to sense the conflict within him, so she asked nothing either.
As the sky gradually darkened, Big Pineapple looked at the last streak of sunset sinking in the west and drew a deep breath. Without looking at Yu Ji, he said, "Take good care of Aimin."
He gave no reason and said nothing else, only that one sentence.
"My king!"
Yu Ji's voice choked as she buried her head in Big Pineapple's chest.
Big Pineapple said nothing more. He could feel the dampness against his chest. Those were Yu Ji's tears.
He only reached out and gently patted Yu Ji's back. The two sat like that until well past midnight without saying anything.
The night wind swept in, stirring up the yellow sand on the ground and bringing a trace of coolness to this desert-like land.
Holding Yu Ji, who had fallen asleep against his chest at some point, Big Pineapple walked back to camp step by step, laid her on the bed, and left.
After he left, Yu Ji opened her eyes. Two crystalline drops slid down her cheeks in the moonlight.
My king, once Aimin grows up, I'll come find you!!!
Having made that resolve in her heart, Yu Ji closed her eyes again.
He longed to throw himself into the king's arms once more, begged him to stay, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't do this, because the king was the king of the entire Asura Clan!
Late that night, Little Pineapple was already asleep. Big Pineapple stood at the doorway and watched him quietly for a while. Just as he was about to leave, he saw Little Pineapple sit up in bed.
"Father, are you leaving?"
Big Pineapple stopped in his tracks. A kindly smile appeared on his imposing face as he walked over and sat beside Little Pineapple's bed. "Yes. Father has something to do. I might not be back for a while."
"Are you going to war again, Father?"
"Yes."
"Then when will you come back, Father?"
Big Pineapple gently shook his head and reached out to stroke Little Pineapple's head. "When the ants are gone, your father will be back. Of course, once you're a little older, when you can truly take charge of the Asura Clan, you can come find me too."
Hearing his father say that he had grown up, Little Pineapple's face filled with excitement. There were even little stars in his eyes as he hurriedly nodded. "Father, don't worry. I know. I've already grown up!"
Big Pineapple nodded in satisfaction. "Remember to take good care of your mother. This is a promise between men."
"Mm-hmm, I understand!"
Big Pineapple left with a smile, but when he reached the doorway, he paused again and said, "Remember, this isn't just a promise between men. It's also a promise between kings."
Little Pineapple still did not understand what had happened. He merely nodded, his face full of excitement.
That night, having gained the approval of his usually strict father, Little Pineapple was so excited that he could not sleep all night.
Ever since he was little, he had always heard that his father was the hero of the entire Asura Clan.
Little Pineapple had heard his story no fewer than a thousand times.
Ever since he was little, he had taken pride in his father.
But his father had always been very strict with him. Sometimes, he did not even dare meet his father's eyes.
With such excited thoughts running through his head, Little Pineapple finally fell into a deep sleep only when the horizon began to brighten.